Advice for the Hurried Life [Part 3]

Hurry can become more than a packed schedule. Hurry can become the condition of the mind, where life feels like a constant rush and the people who matter most keep slipping by. The question is plain: What is hurry costing? The answer is not that every activity is bad. The biggest threat to what matters most is rarely something bad. It is usually too many good things.

Deuteronomy 6 calls Israel to remember who God is: “The Lord our God, the Lord is one.” Moses grounds everything in that confession. God is not one option among a bunch of small-g gods that can be shaped around personal preferences. God is the one true, living God who brought His people out, formed them, provided for them, and promised to carry them forward.

Moses then calls God’s people to love the Lord with all the heart, soul, and strength. The heart names the real person inside, with temperament, gifts, personality, and all that makes a person unique. The soul names the part that lives forever and connects with God. The strength names the physical life that walks around, gets tired, aches, grows old, and keeps moving. God calls for all of it, not a Sunday-morning box pulled out once a week.

The text also puts a serious responsibility on the whole community. God’s words are to be impressed on the children, talked about at home, along the road, at bedtime, and in the morning. God’s story must become part of the rhythm of life. Families and churches must tell the next generation not how great people have been, but how great Jesus has been, and how He has done what nobody could do for themselves.

Jesus makes that responsibility even clearer when He becomes indignant at disciples who try to keep children away. Jesus says, “Let the little children come to me.” The next generation is not an interruption to real ministry. The kingdom is in their hands. Jesus also calls every adult to receive the kingdom like a child, coming to Him helpless, trusting His death and resurrection, and believing that He has made forgiveness possible.

The call is to build a life with enough room for a growing relationship with Jesus and enough margin for people. Sundays, tables, prayers, giving, serving, and simple presence can help make sure children and students know that the Lord is one and that following Him is the way to life.

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Key Takeaways

• 1. Hurry steals moments that matter most. Hurry does not always show up as an obvious sin or a bad decision. Hurry often fills life with good commitments until there is no space left for deep conversation, prayer, or presence. A packed calendar can quietly cost the chance to tell the next generation what God has done. [1:03:15]
• 2. God’s truth belongs in everyday rhythms. Deuteronomy 6 does not place God’s Word in a religious box for one hour a week. God’s commands belong at home, on the road, at bedtime, and in the morning. Faith becomes real when God’s story shapes the ordinary stuff of life. [56:37]
• 3. Children are never ministry interruptions. Jesus became indignant when the disciples pushed children aside. The kingdom belongs to such as these, and the future of the church is tied to how seriously adults make room for them. Every child needs to see that Jesus welcomes them fully. [1:07:43]
• 4. The table makes room for presence. The food is not the point. Presence is the point. Phones put away, honest questions, stories, laughter, and listening can turn an ordinary meal into a place where hearts are known and hope in Jesus is spoken. [1:16:23]
• 5. Every generation shares this responsibility. The next generation is not only the job of parents, grandparents, or a few volunteers. Giving resources, serving faithfully, knowing names, and making time all become ways of helping children and young adults find a place in God’s family.
  
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Youtube Chapters

• [00:00] - Welcome
• [38:27] - Back to School and Busy Lives
• [39:13] - What Is Hurry Costing?
• [42:11] - Make Room for What Matters
• [46:23] - Deuteronomy 6 and God’s Word
• [49:16] - The Lord Is One
• [51:13] - Love God With All of Life
• [53:27] - Impress God’s Truth on Children
• [56:37] - Faith in Everyday Rhythms
• [1:02:27] - Tell the Story of God’s Deliverance
• [1:05:27] - Jesus Welcomes the Children
• [1:09:49] - Receive the Kingdom Like a Child
• [1:12:51] - Too Many Good Things
• [1:14:40] - Make Sundays the Best Day
• [1:15:38] - Fight for the Table
• [1:18:30] - Pray With Your Kids
• [1:19:42] - Serve the Next Generation

1. “Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one.” [49:16]
2. “You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.” [51:14]
3. “And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart.” [53:27]
4. “You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise.” [56:21]
5. “You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes.” [56:59]
6. “You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.” [56:59]

1. “And they were bringing children to him that he might touch them, and the disciples rebuked them.” [01:05:27]
2. “But when Jesus saw it, he was indignant and said to them, ‘Let the children come to me; do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God.’” [01:07:43]
3. “Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it.” [01:09:49]
4. “And he took them in his arms and blessed them, laying his hands on them.” [01:09:49]

1. “When your son asks you in time to come, ‘What is the meaning of the testimonies and the statutes and the rules that the LORD our God has commanded you?’” [01:02:27]
2. “Then you shall say to your son, ‘We were Pharaoh’s slaves in Egypt. And the LORD brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand.’” [01:02:35]
3. “And the LORD showed signs and wonders, great and grievous, against Egypt and against Pharaoh and all his household, before our eyes.” [01:02:35]
4. “And he brought us out from there, that he might bring us in and give us the land that he swore to give to our fathers.” [01:02:53]
5. “And the LORD commanded us to do all these statutes, to fear the LORD our God, for our good always, that he might preserve us alive, as we are this day.” [01:03:07]
6. “And it will be righteousness for us, if we are careful to do all this commandment before the LORD our God, as he has commanded us.” [01:03:47]

1. In Deuteronomy 6:4-9, what repeated settings and times of day are named for talking about God’s words? What does that show about where faith was meant to be practiced? [56:10]
2. What does Moses tell Israel to say when a child asks why God gave them His commands? Notice how the answer begins with God’s rescue rather than simply a list of rules. [01:02:27]
3. What were the disciples doing when people brought children to Jesus, and how did Jesus respond to them? [01:06:39]
4. What practical ways of making room for people were named: Sundays, the table, prayer, giving, serving, knowing names, or listening? [01:19:42]

1. Deuteronomy 6 begins with “The LORD is one.” Why would remembering that God alone is the true and living God shape the way a family or church uses its time, energy, and commitments? [50:18]
2. Moses tells God’s people to explain His commands by telling the story of deliverance from Egypt. Why is it important for children and students to hear what God has done, rather than only hearing what they should do? [01:04:06]
3. Jesus says that adults must receive God’s kingdom like a child. What does childlike trust in Jesus look like for someone who knows they cannot save themselves or earn forgiveness? [01:10:17]
4. Jesus was indignant when children were pushed aside. What are some quiet ways a church, a household, or an adult’s schedule can unintentionally treat children and young adults as interruptions rather than people Jesus welcomes? [01:08:47]

1. What is hurry costing you right now? Is there a relationship, a conversation, a time of prayer, or a person in your home you have been too rushed to notice well? [40:06]
2. The biggest threat to what matters most is often too many good things. What good commitments may be taking more space than they should in your week, and where might you need to create a little margin? [01:12:56]
3. What could make Sunday feel less like one more obligation and more like a life-giving day for you, your household, or someone you could invite to church? [01:14:40]
4. How often does your household, friend group, or routine make room around a table or another shared space? What is one realistic change that could help people put phones away, ask honest questions, and listen well? [01:16:21]
5. Deuteronomy 6 calls God’s people to speak about His faithfulness in ordinary life. Who in the next generation needs to hear a specific story of how Jesus has helped, rescued, forgiven, or carried you? [01:00:32]
6. What simple prayer could become part of your daily rhythm this week—for a child, a student, a young adult, a friend, or your own heart? [01:18:36]
7. You do not have to be a parent or grandparent to help shape the next generation. Is there a tangible way you could give, serve, learn a young person’s name, show up consistently, or make time to listen? [01:19:32]